


Christmas at the Burrow

by Scarshavestories



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Dinner, M/M, Siblings, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 11:19:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17120384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarshavestories/pseuds/Scarshavestories
Summary: It’s Christmas time, but Albus doesn't exactly look joyful. Molly won’t stop until he’s feeling festive. Featuring poshness, Christmas food and siblings being lovely and insensitive.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thefinerfaces](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefinerfaces/gifts).



> Written as a Secret Santa gift for the lovely Amber (HuggingScorbus/Thepistolgirl)!

Molly sighed in contentment as she watched her grandchildren shoving each other to compete for the comfiest seats. She had long since realised that it was when Weasley children stopped playfully fighting that she really needed to worry. Besides, they were always excitable on the first Sunday Lunch of the Christmas holidays. 

She was about to head back into the kitchen to check on the food, when she caught sight of Albus out of the corner of her eye. Apparently oblivious to the shrieks and cackles filling the room, he had perched himself on the window ledge, his eyes fixed somewhere outside, a small frown on his face. 

The image twisted Molly’s heart. They had worked so hard to stop Albus feeling isolated within the family, and yet here he was, sat all alone. She knew better than to try asking him why, knew that Albus would shut her out if she didn’t tread carefully. Instead, she moved to stand beside him, the sound of her voice making him jump out of his reverie as she asked him to help with the cooking. 

The Burrow was never silent, the warbling tunes from the radio currently joining the soft sounds of the food cooking. The pair of them worked quietly, neither speaking except for the occasional instruction, but with the gentle background hum, it wasn’t uncomfortable. Cooking was Molly’s tried and tested way of giving someone space to open up without any pressure to do so. Either she was worrying unnecessarily or Albus didn’t want to share, because he made no attempt to start a conversation. 

She had just set the carrots to chop when a majestic brown owl appeared at the window and started tapping incessantly against it. Albus’ whole demeanour transformed and he leapt across the room to the window. Molly barely had time to cast a protective charm over their lunch before the owl was sweeping into the room and her grandson was rushing to take the letter from it.

Albus’ face split into a grin as he began to read, and suddenly the listless staring out of the window made total sense to Molly. He had been waiting for a letter from a girl. She’d seen it countless times before, the lovesick moping and waiting for contact from the first crush. Her family always laughed at how she was such a sappy romantic at heart, but she couldn’t deny how much she enjoyed seeing her loved ones feeling the nervous excitement of their heart’s first flutter. 

Molly watched the smile slip from Albus’ face as quickly as it had arrived, replaced by a disquieting furrowed brow. After a moment’s internal debate over what her best approach to this would be, she cleared her throat and managed to speak in a mild tone that hid her interest reasonably well. 

“Albus? Is everything ok?”  
Albus looked up from the letter as if only just remembering the world outside it existed.   
“Hm? What?”  
At her reproachful look, he hurriedly corrected himself.   
“Sorry, I meant pardon.”  
“I just asked if everything was OK?”  
“Oh. Well. Yeah.”  
Molly’s heart sank. He wasn’t going to share, so she wouldn’t be able to make it better. 

She was about to turn away when he started to speak again, still looking defeated and not making any eye contact.  
“It’s just, Scorpius doesn’t know what to buy for his Dad for Christmas. And I know that sounds like it’s not a big deal, but since his Mum died he says Christmas doesn’t feel like Christmas anymore and he says his Dad tries so hard to make everything feel festive and do all of their family traditions still, and Scorpius just wants to buy something nice to show how much he appreciates how much his Dad does even though there will always be a gaping hole in their Christmas where his Mum should be.”

Molly took a second to process the barrage of information that her grandson had just unleashed. She felt a flicker of shame for assuming the letter had been from a girl, the word ‘heteronormative’ from one of Rose’s impassioned rants floating to the front of her mind, before she shoved it aside to focus on the current teenage catastrophe. 

Christmas was no fun when you were grieving, she wished she couldn’t relate to that so much, the now familiar heartbreaking pang still hit her often with the memory of another dramatic young boy. Albus’ second issue was luckily far less emotionally involved and far more potentially solvable, it could only take a little brain-wracking to think of an idea for a present, even for a Malfoy. 

“You know, dear, that very much sounds as if it is a big deal. Christmas when you’re grieving is difficult and it sounds like Scorpius has placed a lot of importance on finding the right thing for his Dad. Truthfully, nothing will ever fill that void, but I think we can help him think of a present idea.”

“Do you think? But... you hate the Malfoys?”  
“Albus. I may not have been the biggest fan of their family in the past, and I have certainly hated the actions of Lucius Malfoy on multiple occasions, but I assure you that I could never hate a child, which is exactly what Draco was during the war, and what Scorpius is now. I trust your judgement and you clearly care about Scorpius, so if you’re saying that you think his family needs a helping hand, then that is what the Weasleys shall give. And we have an awful lot of hands.” She wiggled her fingers at him as if to demonstrate the point.

Albus was staring at her with that look of outright admiration he used to give her when he was small and still thought she was a superhero. It made him seem so much younger - a twist of hope visible through the awe on his face. While it swelled her heart to feel him put his faith in her, it did also bring the unnerving realisation that she really needed to succeed with this one. She had the sense that if she broke Albus’ trust on this, she could never hope to regain it. 

“So! A Christmas present idea. Now, I take it Mr Malfoy would not like a Christmas jumper? Because I know a woman who would scarcely notice an extra one on top of the hundred she currently makes.”  
Albus finally cracked a smile. 

“No Grandmolly, no offence to your jumpers but I think Scorpius’ Dad only ever wears fancy robes.”  
“My jumpers are very fancy, thank you very much!”   
Albus rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth were still turned up, so Molly counted that as a win.   
“Alright, no jumpers. Still, we can add ‘fancy robes’ to the list of things we know he likes. What else do you know he likes? Has Scorpius told you about things they do together maybe?”

Albus began to list things Draco Malfoy liked, and some he didn’t, while Molly continued to prepare the lunch. By the time it was ready, she had learnt a very random selection of things about the man, none of which inspired any kind of gift idea. That said, by the sounds of it the Malfoys were still just as posh as she had always assumed, even if their views on muggles had dramatically altered. 

Molly Weasley was many things, but posh was definitely not one of them. Kind, warm, even fierce, but not posh. In fact, the whole concept mesmerised her, she simply did not understand it. None of the Weasleys did, Percy tried, bless him, but she always got the impression he was somehow missing the mark. Luckily, she knew of someone who had been born and raised to be as posh as can be, not that you would necessarily be able to tell these days. 

In the flurry of family and food rushing towards the table, Molly engineered it so Albus and herself were sat at one end with Andromeda. The Blacks had been one of the poshest families going when Molly was a child, and while Andromeda had mostly left her upbringing in the past, she would hopefully still have enough insight to help with a present idea. 

Once they were settled at the table and everyone’s plates were full, Molly turned to where Andromeda and Albus were chatting. They both looked up at the movement, a look of pure joy lighting up Albus’ face.  
“Grandmolly! Andromeda’s going to show me and Scorpius a shop in Muggle London for Mr Malfoy’s Christmas present!”  
Molly raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t expected to get a result quite so quickly, but her grandson seemed infinitely happier already, if the excitement radiating off him was anything to go by. 

That afternoon, when everyone was stuffed full with food, Molly managed to catch Andromeda for a quiet conversation between grandmothers. The others were all in the living room and the pair of them were making everyone tea. 

They stood at the kitchen counter, hands busy with mugs and teapots and cosies, their voices low so they wouldn’t float through to the other room.   
“Andromeda, your offer to Albus earlier was so kind, but are you sure? It’s a lot to ask of-“  
“No, I’m definitely sure. First off, your family have done far, far more than this for Teddy and myself over the years, secondly, Scorpius and Draco are my family, and thirdly, it really isn’t any trouble.”  
Andromeda left no room for argument, and it really would make Albus happy, so Molly decided to accept the kindness gracefully.  
“If you’re sure, then I can only thank you. Poor Albus is so worried about it.”  
“I got that too...” 

“I shouldn’t speculate, but I think he might have a bit of a crush on Scorpius.”  
“Ah, yes, that makes total sense, actually. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him quite as animated as when he started talking about him.” 

Andromeda’s expression turned thoughtful before she continued.

“What he was saying about the Malfoys though, it made me think. Draco invited Teddy and I to spend Christmas with them, I refused because it wouldn’t seem like Christmas if we weren’t here, but I didn’t really consider how it would have helped them to have us there... I remember those first Christmases, after. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated not having to try to make it a good day for Teddy on my own. They were still hard but...”

“It helped us too, having little Teddy there, it made us all make more effort to be festive...”  
“Perhaps I should speak to Teddy about going to-“  
“No, you know what? You’re completely right, Christmas is about family being together and helping each other out. You are our family, and they are yours. We’ll invite them to come and celebrate Christmas here, with us.”

Andromeda was staring at her, eyes wide and mouth open slightly in shock.   
“That-that’s too much. I couldn’t ask you to-“  
“You’re not asking. I’m offering. Two extra people will be no trouble for us but could make it far easier for them. We’re inviting them.”  
Molly pulled the cosy off the teapot, swished her wand to begin pouring the tea into the mugs and began to rattle off which mug should go to whom, effectively ending their discussion.


	2. Chapter 2

The fire crackled in the grate and Molly hummed along to her favourite Celestina Warbeck tune as she debated which colour to make the Scamander twins’ jumpers this year. Floating in the air around her armchair were five pairs of knitting needles, wool spooling through them as they moved, charmed to create Christmas jumpers with practiced ease. 

The only warning Molly got before the peaceful, relaxing scene was destroyed was the flames of the fire flashing green, and then Albus was tumbling out and wool and knitting needles and jumpers were flying everywhere. 

Albus’ eyes were open wide, he was moving fast and somewhat erratically, and he was speaking at three times the usual speed. Whether it was excitement or nervousness that had made him so frantic, Molly couldn’t yet tell. She did wish he’d stop moving for a moment or two though, all the activity was a bit of a shock to her system. 

“Grandmolly! Scorpius said he was coming here for CHRISTMAS DAY. Is that true??? Please tell me that’s true!”  
Molly nodded and promptly found her arms filled with grandson, who somehow had managed to get his arms wrapped around her, despite her still being sat in the armchair.

“Grandmolly, this is amazing, thank you so much! I love you, you’re the best grandma ever, you know that right? Scorpius actually seemed like he was looking forward to Christmas! We have to make this so good for him, I’m so excited! Thank you thank you thank you!”

Albus planted a kiss against his somewhat shell shocked grandmother’s cheek. She couldn’t remember such an outright display of affection coming from him in years.  
“That’s alright, dear. I’m sure you know that I love you too. Inviting them was the right thing to do.”

Albus gave her a big squeeze and landed a kiss on her other cheek. He then pulled himself up to standing, an uncharacteristic grin filling his face. Molly gave herself a mental pat on the back for being amazing at this grandparenting thing. 

She had clocked two of the semi-finished jumpers when Albus pulled her away from her knitting again, this time by physically grabbing her hand and beginning to tug her in the direction of the kitchen. 

“Are you doing the normal Christmas dinner you always do this year? Because Scorpius is a vegetarian so we need to make sure that he still gets an amazing meal and has enough to eat and-“  
“Ok Albus, slow down. One thing at a time.”

Albus appeared to deflate a little at her words, stopping and looking down at his feet, the frantic energy suddenly dissipating.  
“I’m sorry. I just. Scorpius is. He’s. I want his Christmas to be good.”

Molly placed one hand on Albus’ shoulder and the other on his chin, tilting his face up until he met her gaze.  
“Albus. I do understand that you want to make everything perfect for Scorpius. We’ve all been there, it’s what we do when we love someone, I just need you to turn it down a notch. When have I ever let anyone leave my home hungry?”

Albus’ eyes had widened and she had felt his entire body stiffen when she said the word ‘love’, but while he still appeared cautious and guarded, the corners of his mouth did turn up in acknowledgment of her famed overzealous hosting. 

They moved into the kitchen and Molly pulled a couple of her most trusted recipe books from her collection of household guides. 

Two hours later, when Arthur returned in high-spirits from one of his muggle science things, the pair were still at the table poring over the books. 

Molly had learnt more detail about Scorpius Malfoy than she really needed to know (from how his eyes were ‘the colour of the ice palace Queen Elsa makes in Frozen’ to his owl’s favourite treats), but they had at least found some recipes. 

Arthur’s animated discussion of metal-bobbing-pathways was abruptly cut off when he walked into the kitchen and saw his grandson.  
“Albus! To what do we owe the pleasure?!”  
Molly cringed inwardly at the question, watching Arthur’s smile slip into a look of outright shock as Albus animatedly began to explain. 

“-and it’s not just that animals that Scor’s saving, it’s also so good for the planet-“

Molly held back a laugh, the only one able to notice the parallels between Albus’ long speech on how amazing Scorpius was and the one Arthur had been beginning on how amazing muggle science was as he entered the kitchen. Weasley men really didn’t know when to stop when they started on something that made them passionate. 

She wondered idly how long it would take Albus to figure out what the strong feelings Scorpius invoked in him really were. Hopefully less time than it had taken Ron with Hermione. That had been painful to watch and Molly hadn’t even witnessed most of it...

Her musings were interrupted as she became aware that Arthur was giving her a piercing stare, his eyebrows raised in question. Ah. Albus had mentioned the Malfoys-invited-to-the-Burrow-for-Christmas thing while she’d tuned out then. Wonderful. 

Albus had reached the part of his monologue where he was describing exactly why Scorpius deserved to have a good Christmas. Molly knew he was getting dangerously close to detailing the exact shade of his hair again, and a grandmother could only take so much. 

Molly chose the easiest strategy possible and simply started talking to Arthur over Albus.

“Yes, OK, I may have invited the Malfoys for Christmas.” She said on a sigh. Arthur’s eyebrows rose impossibly higher and Albus froze mid-sentence to stare at her.

“Grandparthur doesn’t know??”  
“Well, he does now.”  
Albus looked horrified, while Arthur had on a look she knew well - resigned acceptance.

“Indeed I do. A heads up would have been nice, but honestly, inviting a Death Eater to Christmas dinner is nothing compared to some of the things this family have thrown at me over the years.”

Molly shot Arthur a warning look, but it was too late, Albus was already looking crestfallen, indignant and betrayed.  
“I’m sure Grandparthur meant Ex-Death-Eater, didn’t you dear?”  
“But, I don’t see why he had to bring it up in the first place! That’s ancient history, and he’s Scorpius’ dad and he’s-“

Arthur thankfully cut the poor boy off before he began to properly shout.  
“You’re right Albus, I’m sorry. I must admit that it doesn’t feel like ancient history to me, sometimes I think I’ve blinked and all these years have passed, but you are absolutely right and I will try my hardest to follow your example and welcome your boyfriend and his father to our home with an open mind.” 

Albus instantly turned the colour of an out of puff beetroot and began to choke on thin air. Arthur blinked at him a few times, clearly unable to comprehend how he had said the wrong thing yet again. 

Molly abruptly shut the recipe book in front of her, the soft thud thankfully catching Albus’ attention. She spoke pointedly, closing the previous conversation down. If they continued discussing his love life Albus might burst a blood vessel. Either that or he’d faint. Neither option was appealing. 

“So, Albus, I think the best option was that nut and cranberry puff pastry parcel?”  
Albus shakily drew in a couple of deep breaths while he nodded. Arthur was still looking mystified by the whole thing. 

“Wonderful, I will make sure I have all of the ingredients for Christmas Day.”  
“And you’re going to roast the potatoes and parsnips in vegetable oil not goose fat?”  
“Yes, exactly. There should be plenty for Scorpius to eat.”

Albus managed a weak smile.  
“Thank you Grandmolly. I really appreciate it.”  
“That’s quite alright dear. Now, you should probably be getting back, it’s terribly late.”

Albus stood up, reaching to give both of his grandparents the obligatory kiss goodbye before returning to the living room to Floo home. 

As soon as they heard the fire roar, signalling Albus’ departure, Molly charmed the kitchen roll to bop her idiotic husband on the head. A look of indignation joined the confusion written across his features.

“Hey!”  
“Oh, come on dear, isn’t it obvious! Albus either hasn’t figured it out or doesn’t want us to know about his thing for Scorpius yet! You can’t just go calling him his boyfriend willy-nilly if that’s not what Albus has said he is! How many times...”  
Molly sighed and rolled her eyes fondly as the recognition finally dawned on her lovable but clueless husband. She wouldn’t change him for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The muggle science thing Arthur was at was a public lecture at a university. Metal-bobbing=misheard version of metabolic)  
> (And Molly is only tapping Arthur gently on the head with kitchen roll which is soft and light - no Arthur’s were harmed in the writing of this chapter).


	3. Chapter 3

Molly could scarcely remember a Christmas Day when she hadn’t wondered if this was how it felt to be a military commander. She was now an old hand at dividing and delegating the thousand tasks that needed to be done to create an exquisite meal for everyone. 

By the time the dawn broke into a clear, crisply cold December day, Molly had already made an obscene number of mince pies (ready to be cooked while they ate the main meal), set the milk for the bread sauce to gently infuse with bay leaves and other flavours, begun to work on the stuffing and set Arthur wrapping hundreds of mini sausages in bacon.

Her family usually didn’t start arriving until around 11am, so it was a surprise when Albus appeared in her kitchen at not even 9am. He had an air of nervous anticipation, his eyes wide and bright as he stood in the doorway. 

“Mum and Dad said I could come early to help you. What can I do? We need to make it absolutely perfect because Scorpius is going to be here and-“  
“Merry Christmas to you too, Albus.”  
“Oh. Yeah. Merry Christmas! Can I help?”  
“Of course you can, dear. How about you work on the filling for Scorpius’ dish?”

Molly set Albus up with the recipe, ingredients and the knives, chopping boards and bowl he’d need. He eagerly asked if he could weigh everything using the charm, only to have Arthur let out an excited “Ah, I have just the thing”, then disappear and return enthusing over some muggle scales “he’d been waiting to use!” Albus didn’t hide his disappointment at not being allowed to use magic very well, but took the scales nonetheless.

Andromeda and Teddy arrived slightly earlier than usual, Andromeda telling Molly in an undertone that she thought it would be better she be there already when her nephew arrived.

Teddy immediately sidled up beside Albus, a sly grin on his face as he began to question him.   
“So, Albus, I hear the Malfoys are coming here for Christmas.”  
Albus shrunk into himself a little at Teddy’s tone, seemingly bracing himself for the next question.   
“Yes, they are.”

“And I hear you’re a bit of a fan of a certain cousin of mine?”  
At this point Teddy turned his hair bleach blond, emphasising the taunt even further.  
Albus’ cheeks grew a little red, but he didn’t lift his eyes from the cranberries he continued determinedly to weigh. When he spoke it was slightly gruffly with a little more force than usual.   
“He’s my best friend, ok?”

Teddy rolled his eyes and continued to lean into Albus’ space.  
“Oh, come on, you can tell me if he’s more! You know I won’t judge!”  
Molly forced herself not to scoff at that, Teddy probably didn’t even realise that bullying Albus into admitting something didn’t exactly give off non-judgemental vibes. 

“At least admit you’re not straight! I can take you to a pride event and I’ll teach you ev-“  
“Teddy, I think that’s enough. Poor Albus is quite obviously incredibly embarrassed by this conversation, as displayed clearly in the colour of his face. I imagine the table needs setting?”

Teddy looked aghast as Andromeda’s words sank in. He ran his hand through his now natural brown hair as he apologised.   
“Shit, Al, I’m sorry. I was just excited that the Malfoys are coming so I’ll have blood relatives here for once, you guys are awesome and my family and everything but you’re all properly family with each other and not me and then I got carried away with the thought that you and Scorpius were together and that you were different like me and then I think being here makes me act like a teenager again - normally I blame James but he’s not even here yet so I guess it’s all on-“  
“Teddy, it’s fine. Forget about it.”

Albus had finished weighing the cranberries and begun to chop almonds with a little more force than strictly necessary. He still hadn’t looked up at Teddy, who was looking uncertain and hovering like he didn’t quite know what to do with himself. 

Teddy was saved by the sound of the front door opening and roaring laughter filtering through to the kitchen, followed by the sound of Angelina admonishing George, Roxanne and Freddie. A minute later the family appeared, Angelina sporting a fine pair of antlers and a flashing red nose.

By the time they had valiant attempted to convince everyone that all muggles celebrated Christmas by impersonating ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ (and no one had believed them), the awkwardness between Teddy and Albus had thankfully passed. 

Molly would never admit it aloud, and certainly never in the vicinity of her son, but sometimes George’s antics were useful. She just wished Fred were still there to act as his partner in crime. At least he had Roxanne and Freddie now...

Bill, Fleur and their kids were next to show up, shortly followed by Percy and his family. 

Molly had Fleur arranging the cheeses she’d brought on a board, Percy’s whole family setting the table (the only ones who would care if the forks weren’t perfectly aligned), Angelina making gravy and Bill in charge of the kids peeling potatoes. 

George was assigned to crackers, because at least people expected them to contain pranks. Molly shuddered as she remembered the year she’d asked him to conjure chairs... 

When the Granger-Weasleys arrived they were put on chair duty, because Ron wouldn’t dare misbehave on Christmas Day under Hermione’s watchful eye, as she thought pranks ruined the magical atmosphere. 

Roxanne and Dominique had just started playing ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ at an insane volume, warbling horrendously out of tune along to it, when the Floo flared. 

Every single time there had been a sign of someone arriving, Molly had watched Albus perk up, and then shrink back in disappointment when he heard voices that did not belong to Scorpius.

This time, when two figures emerged from the fireplace, there were no voices for Albus to hear. Instead, the tone-deaf singing and conversation stopped, and as Albus scrambled to the doorway of the living room, the entire house seemed to freeze, the only sound Slade merrily chanting ‘so here it is, Merry Christmas, everybody’s having fun’. In all of the fuss of cooking, Molly had forgotten to warn everyone about the Malfoys.

The silence dragged on. Albus and Scorpius were looking at each other helplessly, Albus clenching and unclenching his fists, leaning forwards a touch as if to run into the room before losing his nerve and staying put. 

Draco’s eyes were flickering across the room, between the various faces that stared back at him. He shifted slightly from foot to foot, reaching an arm out around Scorpius’ shoulder, holding him close for support. 

Molly knew she should march in there and welcome them to her home, introduce them to the family and make them feel comfortable. But they were both exquisitely dressed in formal robes fit for any ministry ball, and Molly was wearing an apron covered in food stains, had flour smeared on her cheek and possibly had a bit of carrot peel stuck in her hair. Part of her couldn’t help but feel inadequate and intimidated. 

Apparently Harry Potter could detect distress from miles away and show up just in time to save the Wizarding World from anything, including social awkwardness. That was the only logical Molly could draw when Harry tumbled out of the fire before she had forced herself to get over her insecurities and act the generous hostess. 

Harry straightened, cast a look around the room and promptly stuck his hand out towards Draco.   
“Malfoy, Merry Christmas. And to you too, Scorpius.”  
Draco’s mouth fell open a touch as he shook Harry’s hand, his voice weak as he returned the greeting.   
“Merry Christmas.”  
Molly didn’t miss how Harry looked towards Albus, raising his brows at him as the men dropped the handshake. 

Albus darted over to join the group as James emerged from the fire. James’ face almost immediately split into a grin and he rounded on his brother. 

“Mariah Carey, eh?”  
Molly had barely noticed that the song blaring out across the room had changed, but as she listened she could predict James’ next words like watching a broom crash in slow motion.   
“Did you put this on, Al? Are we about to get to watch you serenade Scorpius?”  
Albus and Scorpius had turned matching shades of bright red. 

Lily, who had followed James through the Floo, joined in.   
“Wait, hold up, is this a big public declaration of love? Albus, you’re not seriously about to do it through the means of a cheesy Christmas song? Really Al? I thought you and Scorpius would be more the secretly-dating-for-a-while-before-privately-telling-a-few-people-and-letting-it-spread kind of people. Now I owe Rose 3 galleons you dickheads.”

The music still echoed around the house.  
‘Make my wish come true’  
All eyes were on the group in front of the fireplace.  
‘All I want for Christmas, is youuuuu’

And Harry and Ginny were talking over each other, both admonishing James and Lily. Draco was asking Scorpius if he was OK. George and Bill were singing at their wives. Scorpius was reaching a hand out towards Albus. Albus was running from the room. 

Molly looked at her watch, it was barely noon and already there was drama. How Christmassy. 

Scorpius hesitated for only a moment before taking off after Albus. Draco looked a tiny bit terrified to suddenly be alone in what he clearly viewed as hostile territory, though considering that George was George and Draco had been a Death Eater, that mentality probably wasn’t entirely unwarranted. With this in mind, Molly moved out of her safe spot at the entrance to the kitchen, took Draco by the arm and led him in the direction the boys had gone. 

They found them on the stairs. Scorpius had clearly managed to get Albus to stop his ascent mid-way, as he stood nearer the top, still looking up, but no longer moving forwards. Scorpius stood at the bottom, helplessly staring after Albus, seemingly too scared to actually approach him, but desperately trying to convince him to come back down. 

Molly and Draco stood further down the hallway, just hidden from view, not that either of the boys would have noticed them anyway. 

Scorpius sounded nothing short of terrified, and wounded too. Molly had to physically hold Draco back from running over. The boys had to work this out themselves. 

“Albus, please just come back down. I know it wasn’t you who put that song on. I know you would never serenade me! Come on, it was just James and Lily being ridiculous. I’m sorry. It’s probably my fault. I’ve not been being very good at hiding the way I feel recently but I promise I’ll do better and then they’ll stop, I’m so sorry, I’m such an idiot, I think I just started to hope, but that was stupid, I’m so lucky to have you as a best friend and I’m so sorry-“  
Scorpius cut himself off as Albus finally turned around and spoke.  
“Wait... what?”

Now he had stopped, it seemed Scorpius couldn’t get any more words out. He just stood there opening and closing his mouth aimlessly.

“What did you hope? How do you feel?”  
Scorpius’ shoulders slumped, defeated, and he looked towards the floor.   
“That you liked me back, alright? I hoped that you liked me back. Like I said, I’m sorry. I promise I’m trying to get over you. I’m so sorr-“  
While Scorpius had been talking to the floor, Albus had descended the stairs between them, and Scorpius’ apologies died in his throat as he felt a hand against his cheek, gently guiding his face upwards.   
“Please don’t get over me. If you did I’d be in this alone” was all Albus said before he brought their lips together. 

Molly was trying very hard to suppress the urge to applaud when she noticed how Draco’s body beside her had frozen. Molly’s fiercely protective streak instantly reared its head. There was no way she was going to let a homophobic Malfoy ruin her grandson’s happiness.

She grabbed Draco roughly by the arm and pulled him into the dining room, shoving him into a chair. It was only then that she caught the look on his face. Where she had expected an angry scowl there was instead a blank, shocked expression. 

Draco spoke slowly and faintly.   
“I had no idea. That he liked Albus like that. That he was struggling so much with his feelings... I had no idea.”  
Molly let herself relax. Concerned fathers she could understand.   
“Draco, it’s ok. We only really know what they choose to tell us once they go to Hogwarts and-“  
“But if I were a better father he’d have known he could talk to-“  
“Honestly, the only thing you can do is let him know that you support him no matter what and that he can talk to you, if he wants to. There’s not much more we can do but that. All we can do is love them and try our best to care for them.”

Draco looked at Molly for a second, before finally nodding slightly, pulling himself back up to full height. He then pulled a small parcel out of his robes and passed it to Molly.   
“Thank you for having us this Christmas, Molly. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. This is just a small token from Scorpius and I to show our gratitude.”  
Molly couldn’t hide her surprise. She patted Draco‘s hand where it lay on the table.   
“That’s very kind of you. You’re both quite welcome. No doubt we’ll be seeing plenty more of you both. Now, would you like a drink?”

Later, when all of the preparations had been made, the food cooked, and they sat around the giant dining table, Molly couldn’t help the smile that pulled at the corners of her lips. 

She was surrounded by her whole family, even Charlie had waltzed in five minutes before the meal, and she knew Fred would always be with them. Everyone had food piled onto their plates (the vegetarian option having proved surprisingly popular) and more importantly each and every face at the table was graced with a smile. 

Arthur, Scorpius and Hermione were deep in a conversation about muggle food colourings, while Albus was taking Lily and Rose to task for betting on his love life, but Albus and Scorpius kept sneaking glances and smiles at each other, and she was pretty sure they were holding hands under the table. 

Molly let out a sigh. All was calm, all was bright. 

At least until the next fiasco...


	4. Bonus Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus & Scorpius’ trip to Muggle London.   
> Fits between chapters 1 & 2, but is Albus’ POV not Scorpius’.

Everyone was shoved closer as even more people somehow squeezed into the underground carriage. As the train pulled away, Albus and Scorpius were pushed up against each other, their faces impossibly close and their chests pressed together. 

Scorpius didn’t seem to have noticed their proximity, still wittering on about how clever the engineering of the tube was. Albus had stopped paying attention three stops ago, listening instead to the sound of his voice, enjoying hearing the excitement in his posh tones. 

He spared a thought for poor Andromeda, who was wearing a weary, slightly disdainful expression as she stood in the crowded train. Albus felt a flash of guilt which was quickly overridden by gratitude that she had volunteered to take them on this trip as Scorpius gleefully exclaimed that they were almost there. 

Albus had been surprised by just how strong his compulsion to make Scorpius feel better had been when he had divulged his fears about Christmas. His relief and happiness now that it seemed the Malfoys would have a good day was almost overwhelming in its intensity. 

He watched Scorpius chattering away through the grin on his face, his movements erratic and joyful. To Albus, it was the most amazing sight in the world, and feeling the warmth of Scorpius’ body against him, even through all their winter clothes, was the best thing ever to happen to him. 

His appreciation was cut short by a bodiless voice declaring they’d reached South Kensington as the train slowed to a halt. Andromeda called to them, inclining her head sharply towards the doors and forcing her way through the people to reach the exit.

Both Albus and Scorpius made it off the tube before the doors slid shut again, and followed the path Andromeda was weaving through crowds and up escalators until they emerged into the crisp December air. 

A gigantic shop covered in tiny white lights loomed up to their left, it’s ornate frontage taking pride of place on the busy street. Andromeda strode towards the doors being held open by men dressed in smart dark green coats. 

Albus suddenly fought the urge to smile as he realised him and Scorpius were like little ducklings, following behind Andromeda as if she were the mother duck. A mother duck who hadn’t stopped moving since they stepped off the train, now taking them through large halls, each filled with a different thing and every one as beautifully decorated as the last. 

Eventually Andromeda came to a stop somewhere on one of the upper floors, spinning on her heel to look at the two boys. She had on an expression that Albus could only describe as mischievous, it was the exact same look that Teddy wore before he explained exactly how they could stick to all of the rules and still wreak havoc. 

“Now boys, do you remember what I promised your parents I would do on this trip?”  
“Stay with us at all times.”  
Albus replied in resigned tones.   
“Is that what you heard? Are you sure?”  
Scorpius gasped.   
“No, Albie, her words were: I’ll stay close, I promise I’ll always be in the same shop as them!”  
Andromeda’s smug smirk would have been irritating if Albus hadn’t been even more pleased with her than she apparently was with herself. 

Her smile became more genuine and as if she could read their minds, she shooed them away with assurances that she would be happy to wait for them at the chocolate café behind her, and that Albus could phone her mobile if needs be. 

With that, they were free, alone with the huge shop to roam together. Albus glances up at Scorpius and their eyes met, both suddenly awkward as they smiled slightly shyly at each other. It was bizarre, they weren’t shy around each other! And yet here they were, happy to be alone together and yet unsure what to do somehow. 

Scorpius broke the moment, tearing his eyes away to flick across the shop around them.   
“Shall we, you know, go try to find my Dad a present?”  
“Yeah, alright”   
Albus smiled back at him as they fell into step, walking side by side. 

There was comfortable silence between them as they strolled through the rooms filled with clothes and saucepans and fabric. Occasionally Scorpius would slow and they’d briefly look at something, maybe uttering a few words about it, but mostly they stayed wrapped inside their own heads, though quietly enjoying the presence of the other beside them. 

Albus wondered whether Scorpius’ mind was also on that moment earlier, or whether he had recovered from the shock of Albus’ ridiculous behaviour. He seemed to have forgotten it on the train in his marvelling at old muggle technology, but now Albus wasn’t so sure. It wasn’t that big of a deal, was it? 

It should have just been a normal occurrence, they had planned to meet outside Gringotts Bank as Scorpius needed to exchange some galleons for muggle money, and it was conveniently close to Wheezes, the only place on Diagon Albus’ parents allowed him to Floo to alone.

Everything had gone to plan, Scorpius had been there waiting as Albus approached him (Ron still watching from Wheezes because their family was paranoid), saying how Andromeda had said to meet them inside the bank. 

It had all started to go tits up when Albus actually reached Scorpius. He’d had the strange compulsion to throw his arms around his best friend, and in a momentary lapse of all common sense he had actually followed through and given Scorpius a hug. For absolutely no reason. He’d just walked up and pulled their bodies together, then realised what he was doing and hastily letting go, feeling the blush in his cheeks as he looked away awkwardly. 

Scorpius had seemed a bit surprised, his whole body frozen as if he didn’t know how to react. He looked a touch red when Albus finally allowed himself to steal a glance at him, but after a second he seemed to shake himself a little, and continued as if nothing had happened. 

The odd hug in the middle of Diagon Alley could have been shrugged off as a moment of madness, but then Albus managed to go and make it worse. He wished Scorpius had chosen a better moment to tell him that he was coming to the Burrow. He also wished he hadn’t reacted at quite such a high decibel.

They had reached the queue at the bureau de change by the time they got past the greetings to actual conversation. Unfortunately, this meant there was a nice audience to witness Albus’ reaction to Scorpius announcing that he’d be spending Christmas at the Burrow. 

It was nothing short of a squeal. A high-pitched, strange noise that would have sounded natural coming from a pig’s pen, but not a teenage boy. In case that hadn’t made him look odd enough, he had also jumped half a metre in the air and done a bizarre thing where all his limbs wiggled of their own accord while he was mid-air. 

Albus knew that he had looked absolutely ridiculous. Or drunk. Or maybe both. He almost wished he had been drunk, at least then he could have blamed it on the alcohol... 

To his credit, Scorpius had limited his laughter to a broad smile, and had continued as if nothing were amiss, for which Albus was eternally grateful. 

Albus had managed to stutter out a few words to express that he was happy they’d be spending Christmas today, and was rewarded by Scorpius looking him straight in the eye with a breathtakingly genuine, delighted smile that made Albus feel warm to the tips of his toes. 

Andromeda and Scorpius had spent the walk towards the tube discussing ideas for what to buy Scorpius’ Dad, a few of which Teddy has suggested when he’d been told about the shopping trip. Albus doubted that Draco Malfoy would appreciate a wine rack made from repurposed tyres, but he did appreciate the creativity that it must take to be quite as eccentric as Teddy. 

Of course, as soon as they had reached the Underground station Scorpius’ eyes had lit up like the Christmas lights lining the streets and he had begun his speech on muggle ingenuity until they had reached the shop. 

Albus was prevented from dwelling further on his regretful behaviour that morning by Scorpius suddenly turning his head to face him. His eyes were glinting and he was giving Albus a small, questioning smile. Albus could only smile back, unable to look away from how Scorpius looked in that moment.

Then Scorpius grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along, dodging around the other customers because it suddenly seemed to have become incredibly busy. Scorpius’ happiness was explained as Albus realised they’d found the Christmas section. 

Scorpius lead him past where presents were being beautifully wrapped and came to a stop in front of a huge wall covered in dainty Christmas tree decorations. 

Albus expected his hand to be unceremoniously dropped as soon as it wasn’t being used to drag him past other shoppers, but Scorpius must have forgotten they were still holding hands as he didn’t let go. 

Albus certainly wasn’t about to break their contact, he was enjoying the feel of Scorpius’ fingers wrapped around his own, loving how it was almost like they were connected, together and unbreakable. 

Scorpius reached up and plucked a beautiful brightly coloured glass bauble from the wall. When Albus looked back up at his face, he was surprised to find his gaze returned. 

“Decorations are so delicate and pretty, aren’t they?”  
Albus swallowed and nodded.   
“Yep... do you think your Dad would want one?”  
Scorpius snorted and the fragile moment between them was broken.   
“Ha, no, this would ruin his ‘sophisticated and stylish aesthetic’. The theme in our house is ‘White Christmas’ and we’re not even allowed tinsel...”

Albus dramatically feigned his horror, throwing his free hand to his face.  
“No tinsel! Why Scorpius, how do you survive!”  
Scorpius joined in, his reaction equally exaggerated as Albus’.  
“Alas, tinsel has been deemed ‘tacky’ by the Christmas police!”  
“Oh my dear Scorpius, this is a travesty! How fortuitous that you shall be saved by coming to the Burrow!”

Genuine surprise crossed Scorpius’ features then was quickly replaced by excitement.   
“You have tinsel at the Burrow? And colourful decorations?”  
Albus tried to shoot him an incredulous look, but it was ruined by his inability to not smile back.  
“Scorpius, have you met my family? Weasley basically means chaos at the best of times, and it’s 1000 times worse at Christmas. Not only do we have tinsel, we have tinsel that flashes rainbow colours, tinsel that follows my grandma around and tinsel that randomly start singing rude versions of Christmas Carols.”

Scorpius was showing almost all of his teeth he was grinning so hard, but Albus could also see something that looked a little like trepidation in his eyes. He gave Scorpius’ hand and spoke normally again.   
“Don’t worry, George only targets family. He once played a trick on this guy Charlie had visiting from Romania and you should have seen how angry Grandmolly got. And he was an adult. I don’t think he’d dare do anything bad to you.”

Scorpius gestured to the bauble still held in his hand.   
“Do you reckon your Grandmolly would like this?”  
“You don’t have to get her anything!”  
“Oh, no, my Dad asked me to look out for something for her and Arthur. It’s polite to bring a gift for your host. And it’s Christmas.”  
“Well, Scor that bauble costs £25 and I think Grandmolly would be horrified if you spent that amount on a bauble. If you really want to get something we can maybe ask Andromeda if we can stop somewhere less fancy on the way home?”

“Fine, it just seems criminal to leave something so pretty in a shop!”  
Albus rolled his eyes, but reached out to take the decoration from Scorpius, walking over to the till with it. Neither had yet dropped the other’s hand, so Scorpius followed, confusion written all over his face. 

“Wait, where are we going? I thought you said it was too expensive for a bauble?”  
“It is expensive for a bauble!”  
“Then what are you doing?”  
“Grandmolly wouldn’t like something so extravagant, but you’re a posh wanker and you don’t have any colourful Christmas decorations and you really like this one, so I’m buying it for you.”

Scorpius stopped abruptly, the motion forcing Albus to a halt too.   
“I...I... Albus, I know your parents don’t give you that much pocket money, I can’t let you waste it on-“  
“It’s not wasting it. And anyway, I bet Rose that Hugo wouldn’t mess that speech he did up, and then told Dominique he was really worried about it.”  
“You took advantage of a Hufflepuff’s natural desire to help people? Smart. And very Slytherin.”  
“That’s me, green and grey all the way!”  
Scorpius beamed at him. 

Albus moved them into a slightly quieter corner once he had paid, holding the now carefully wrapped in tissue paper decoration out to Scorpius.   
“This is for your bedroom. Your Dad can have his boring snoring theme, but this is a little bit of colour just for you. OK?”  
Scorpius gently took the bauble, and then leant forward to press a kiss onto Albus’ cheek, pulling away with a light blush and a small smile.   
“Thank you, it’s beautiful.”  
“I know, that’s why I bought it!”

They forced themselves away from the Christmas section, still needing to find a present for Scorpius’ Dad. After another half an hour browsing through the various departments, they came to a hall just as busy as the Christmas one, but this time filled to the brim with food from chocolate to chutney. 

Neither Scorpius nor Albus wanted to pass up the opportunity to look at all of the culinary delights on offer, and they eagerly began pointing out cool looking things to each other. 

As they reached the other end of the room, Scorpius sighed.   
“The first time today I find things I know my Dad would definitely love and I can’t buy them because you can’t exactly hand someone a jar of jam and go tada! Merry Christmas! Even if it does have elderflower gin in it.”  
“Yeah... that would be weird, wouldn’t it? That’s like me getting given a clementine on Christmas or something...”

A man dressed in the smart Harrods uniform approached them.   
“Sirs, I am afraid I could not help but overhear your mentioning of giving a jar of our marvellous jam for Christmas. Might I suggest that you consider a hamper as an idea?”

Albus glanced over at Scorpius and saw the confusion he felt mirrored on his friend’s face.   
“A what?”  
The Harrods man smiled kindly at their bewildered expressions.   
“A hamper is essentially a box with a lid, generally made of wicker, into which one puts various treats. They make marvellous gifts, and your jam would go well in one.”

Scorpius’ enthusiasm was obvious in his voice.   
“Oh! Is is a traditional Christmas thing?”  
“Not specifically Christmas, but yes, they are rather traditional presents.”  
The man turned towards Albus.  
“Speaking of which, your clementine idea isn’t so far fetched, it is very traditional to receive a clementine in a Christmas stocking, originating from a time when they were exotic and rarely available.”  
“No way? That’s incredible!”

The man gave them another warm smile, before turning slighting and gesturing to his left.   
“I wouldn’t lie to you. In case you want to look into the hampers further, you’ll find someone who can help you just up these stairs and to the right.”  
Scorpius nodded, a gorgeous grin across his face as he began to move, pulling Albus with him and calling back a “Thank you!” to their saviour in a Harrods uniform. 

Scorpius’ delight only seemed to increase as they picked out all of the goodies that would go into the hamper. Albus was completely unsurprised by the amount of thought Scorpius put into each decision, carefully considering whether his Dad would like each thing, whether it would be too similar to something else he’d already chosen, and if so whether it should replace that item. Of course Scorpius would pay attention to the finer details and take the utmost care, because he was the kindest, most wonderful human on the planet and wanted to make his Dad happy. 

Eventually, the hamper was full of fudge and truffles and spiced nuts and pickles and all sorts of other delights, including the gin infused jam that had lead them there. Albus thought they couldn’t possibly fit anything else inside the hamper, but then Scorpius gasped beside him.   
“No. Way.”  
Scorpius added a clementine to the hamper, somehow his smile becoming even bigger and more dazzling than it had been before. Albus felt like he might spontaneously combust from the force of that smile, like it was so bright it could overwhelm him. 

Albus stayed with Scorpius as he went to pay, and it proved to be quite lucky that he had when the cashier asked them for a delivery address. Scorpius began to recite his address before turning to Albus with wide, panicked eyes. He instantly knew what Scorpius had realised: he lived in a magical house, concealed with age-old charms from prying muggle eyes. Neither of their houses would possibly be found by a muggle delivery van, and the hamper was too large and heavy for them to carry on the tube. 

Albus thought quickly, urgently trying to remember if his Dad had ever had muggle things delivered anywhere. And then the answer dawned on him, and he pulled out his phone, scrolling through the contacts. When he found the address he needed, he reeled it off to the shop assistant and smiled at Scorpius, who seemed somewhere between relieved and curious. 

As they walked back towards where they had left Andromeda, Albus kept his phone out.   
“Sorry, I hope that was OK? I should probably ring and warn them, but I don’t imagine they’ll mind.”  
“Was it Granger as in Granger-Weasley?”  
“They’re Rose’s grandparents, yeah.”  
“And they’ll be ok with it being delivered to them?”  
“Yes, Scor, of course they will. They’re nice people.”

Scorpius appeared to be appeased by that, nodding his head slightly as they walked. Albus missed the feel of Scorpius’ hand being held in his, but he didn’t dare reach out for it again, not without the excuse of dragging Scorpius somewhere. They chatted happily about the things they’d chosen for Scorpius’ Dad, and before they knew it had reached the café where they quickly found Andromeda. 

She looked happy to see them, throwing back the remainder of her tea and standing when she noticed them.   
“Ah, boys, I was just starting to get worried! Did you find a present for Draco?”  
They both nodded.   
“Brilliant, and you’re pleased with it Scorpius?”  
His face broke into another earth-shatteringly gigantic smile that Albus thought might’ve killed him, had it been directed his way.   
“Yes, I think he’ll love it! We found this jam...”

They walked towards the exit at only a slightly less brisk pace than when they had entered the shop. On the ground floor, Andromeda turned around to speak to them.   
“I’m afraid I have a couple of things to get in Muggle London. Would you boys mind if I didn’t take you home right away? Just seems silly not to go while I’m so close.”  
Albus was nodding so hard he thought he might crick his neck. More time with Scorpius? Yep. Yep that’d be completely OK with him thanks Andromeda. He didn’t articulate any of those words, allowing Scorpius’ “that’s totally fine with us” to speak for both of them. 

They made there way out into the busy streets, allowing Andromeda to take the lead once more, but following closely so as not to lose her. At one point, a gaggle of girls, a little older than the boys filled nearly the whole pavement, and Scorpius slipped behind Albus to pass them in single file. 

A second later and Scorpius still hadn’t returned to Albus’ side, and when he turned he couldn’t see him. His heart was beating so fast he felt it might beat straight out of his chest, his mouth had gone dry and his whole body was trembling from the force of his fear. Scorpius didn’t have a phone, he couldn’t just ring and they’d find him. Then Scorpius popped out from behind a woman with an oversized pushchair and a screaming toddler, and Albus felt the relief wash over him. 

When Scorpius had caught back up to them, he was still looking carefree and wide eyed. Albus gave him a shaky smile and held out his hand, giving a shrug and mumbling   
“You don’t have a phone. I don’t want to lose you.”  
Scorpius looked down at the hand, then looked up into Albus’ eyes with a soft, almost pleased expression and Albus tripped over his own feet and only just saved himself from actually crashing down onto the pavement. Scorpius’ eyes crinkled in amusement, but he held back the laughter and took the outstretched hand in his own. 

Andromeda suddenly took a sharp left into a walkway lined with trees covered in blossoms of white lights. There were huge shiny red baubles everywhere, giving it a beautifully Christmassy feel. 

They stopped outside a jewellers with a life-sized toy owl wearing a diamond encrusted brooch in the window.  
“Hey, Al, it looks just like your Dad’s old owl!”  
Andromeda gave them a knowing look.   
“That’s entirely intentional. In the war it acted as a symbol to witches and wizards. Everyone knew what Hedwig looked like, so anyone who recognised her knew they would find a magical haven for those on Harry’s side inside.”  
“That’s so cool! So it’s a magical shop?”

Andromeda shook her head as she moved towards the entrance.  
“Not exactly, it’s a family business, but one of the siblings is a witch so they’d offer supplies and help to anyone on the run. I still like to support them when I can.”  
Andromeda disappeared into the shop. Albus gave Scorpius a questioning look, and at the responding nod, they both followed her inside. 

Scorpius looked around eagerly, moving between the displays with Albus still in tow. Albus guessed he might still be looking for a thank-you-for-having-us-for-Christmas-present, although he felt they were unlikely to find anything in a jewellers of a value that wouldn’t humiliate his grandparents more than please them. 

Thankfully Scorpius didn’t suggest they buy anything there, and when Andromeda reappeared, shopping bag now in hand, they left the shop and continued their walk through London. 

Scorpius asked Andromeda how she knew her way around Muggle London so well, and that started her down memory lane, dreamily recounting nights when her husband had taken her dancing, evening trips to the theatre and days shopping for her parents-in-law. Albus had known her all his life, but he felt like he’d never met that version of her. 

By the time she had finished reminiscing, Scorpius occasionally asking questions, they had walked for what felt like miles. Albus was beginning to get concerned that his hand would be sweaty in Scorpius’, what with the walking and the fact he couldn’t seem to focus on anything but the contact and the boy the hand belonged to.

They reached a large, pedestrianised area with an open sided building at the centre. There were small crowds at random intervals, and as they approached one they found a woman singing at the centre. Andromeda explained that this area, Covent Garden, was well known for street performers. 

She stepped back from the crowd, still facing the boys. Her lips twitched, and her eyes flicked towards their joined hands so quickly Albus would have missed it if he hadn’t been looking.   
“Can I trust you two not to tell your parents if I give you free reign of this place for an hour?”

They glanced at each other, both trying to hide their smiles as they nodded emphatically.   
“We promise to tell them you stuck to us like a charm the whole time.”  
“We’ll complain about how close you stayed.”  
“I’m probably a fool, but I dare say I agree with Teddy that you deserve a little freedom, he did also said something about shipping you but we’re miles from the coast so I have no idea what he meant by that... OK. See that church? Meet me in front of it at quarter-to. If you’re not there then there’ll be hell to pay. Got it?”  
At their affirmation, she turned on her heel and was gone. 

Scorpius turned to Albus, somehow appearing excited, nervous and questioning all at once. Albus was pretty sure he’d give his wand arm and his last breath to give Scorpius what he wanted, he just needed to know what that was.   
“Was that woman singing Christmas songs?”  
There was something in Scorpius’ tone that made Albus nervous.   
“Yesss... why?”  
Scorpius took a step back, bringing their joined hands up as if he were holding his hand out for Albus to take, not that he’d actually ever let go.   
“Albie... will you dance with me?”

Albus felt his stomach swoop. He couldn’t tell if the sudden nervousness was about dancing with Scorpius, or dancing in front of a load of people, none of whom appeared to be dancing. But then he caught sight how tentatively hopeful Scorpius looked, like he was anticipating a no but wishing for a yes, and Albus found he simply couldn’t refuse. A little bit of public humiliation was nothing if it meant making Scorpius happy for even a moment. 

Albus rolled his eyes but took a step towards Scorpius.   
“I cannot believe you’re getting me to do this. You know people don’t do this, right? They don’t just dance along to street performers...”  
Scorpius had pushed his way through to the small clearing around the young, brunette woman, who was strumming the guitar and delivering an acoustic rendition of Wham’s Last Christmas. 

Scorpius genuinely bowed to Albus, who had to take a deep breath, remind himself that he knew no one here and focus all his attention on the boy in front of him. Scorpius reached up to rest a hand close to Albus’ neck, making his breath hitch. It took him a second to realise he needed to place his hand on Scorpius’ waist. Scorpius beamed at him, his eyes lit up more than any of the Christmas lights strung up around them. 

It took only a second for Albus to forget everyone around them, his world centred entirely on the feel of Scorpius in his arms as they danced together to the soft lilting tones of the street performer. Their dancing wasn’t perfect, more than once they had a near miss with a trodden toe, but neither of them cared. After a moment they were joined by a pair of kids, dancing along beside them, and then an older couple, and suddenly there were people dancing all around. 

Albus had no idea how long they had been dancing when the music faded and the singer informed them forlornly that her slot was up, and a magician came to replace her. He was entirely surprised by the twinge of disappointment he felt at their dance being cut short, and realised with amazement that he had actually enjoyed the dancing.

Scorpius was slightly flushed, his hair a little dislodged and his eyes were sparkling with pleasure. Albus didn’t think he had ever looked more spectacularly gorgeous. Objectively, of course. They stood for a second, still wrapped up in each other’s arms, getting their breaths back. 

Albus tilted his head vaguely towards the shops.  
“Want to go and browse?”  
“Oh! Yes! I still need to get your grandparents something!”  
Albus rolled his eyes, but set off towards the shops alongside Scorpius anyway. 

Albus checked the time on his phone (after just stopping Scorpius from pulling his wand to cast the charm), and they only had 40 minutes, so they tried to work out quickly if each shop could potentially contain something good. 

Albus thought that Grandmolly would love a scrubbing brush made to look like a woman that looked a bit like her, but Scorpius scrunched up his nose and said that it was offensive to buy things for household chores, and also to say his grandma looked ‘garish coloured, simple featured and odd shaped’. Albus tried again with an umbrella of similar design to no avail. He remembered the name of the shop so his Mum could go back, instead. 

The rest of the shops in the building didn’t look hopeful, so they wandered back outside to see if any of the other shops surrounding them would have anything. 

They came across what called itself a market, but was undercover and seemed to be selling hoodies covered in slogans, candles and odd glass hanging things in the place of carrots and potatoes. 

Scorpius was fascinated by the slogans on the clothes, musing aloud where they came from. Albus, who has grown up watching a fair amount of television, waved off the odd phrases, barely blinking an eye as Scorpius furrowed his brow at them.   
“What does ‘we were on a break’ mean?”  
“It’s from a TV show... Scor, we have less than 10 minutes until we need to meet Andromeda!”  
Albus was glad he had checked his phone again, he didn’t think Andromeda had been exaggerating when she said there would be hell to pay if they weren’t on time... 

Scorpius looked a bit panicked, and started talking very very quickly.   
“Oh my. Should we go back now? We can’t be late. But I still haven’t got Molly and Arthur a present! Oh I don’t know what to do! We shouldn’t have spent so long danc-“  
Albus grabbed Scorpius and gave him a little shake.   
“It’s fine. We’re not late yet! We can keep looking, and I’ll keep an eye on the time. Ok?”  
Scorpius swallowed, but nodded and began looking around frantically. 

At least in this section everything was clearly on display, so they were able to clearly discount whole stalls without so much as a second glance. Scorpius began to walk down, further into the market, his head turning back and forth as he did. Albus kept close to him, the place was fairly busy and he worried that if he lost sight of him for just a second it would take far longer than the time they had to find him. 

Albus was about to tell Scorpius they should maybe give up, they only had 5 minutes left and they clearly weren’t going to find anything, when he suddenly stopped dead so quickly that Albus almost crashed into it. Scorpius jumped a little and clapped his hands together in glee.  
“Yes! This is it! It’s perfect!”  
They had come to a stop next to a stall that looked like it was selling random bits of metal, until Albus looked more closely and saw that each one made a character doing some kind of muggle activity or sport.

The one that Scorpius was asking the stall holder for was not exactly muggle though. It was a set of coat hooks, above which sat a figure riding the muggle interpretation of a broomstick, and wearing the kind of pointy hat that they always associated with witches. It was a strange collision of worlds, the metalwork showing off muggle ingenuity, while the broomstick was a reflection of their own world from a perspective they could never have themselves. Grandmolly and Grandparthur would love it. 

Albus glanced at his phone every three seconds as the stall owner took the longest time possible to carefully wrap the hooks in tissue paper. He barely refrained from just telling her to put a protective charm on it, but she eventually held out a hand for Scorpius’ money and gave the neatly wrapped package in a plastic bag, with 1.5 minutes until they were late for Andromeda. As soon Scorpius had the gift, Albus grabbed his arm and they sprinted back in the direction of the church. 

Andromeda was already there. She caught their approach (sprinting across the paving was hardly subtle) and gave them a reproachful glare, but only raised her eyebrows and made a cutting remark about their immaculate timing when they reached her. 

The tube was just as busy as it had been earlier, only now they were slightly sweaty from their dash back to Andromeda, so the stuffiness of the carriage felt 10 times worse. All of them were beyond happy to escape from the Underground network and breathe in the cool December air. 

That was, until they found themselves back in the Leaky Cauldron and Albus realised his day with Scorpius was drawing to a close, which filled him with a kind of depressed disappointment that this fantastic day couldn’t last forever. Scorpius looked like maybe the same realisation had just hit him, he looked somehow greyer and less animated than he had all day as he stood beside the fire, ready to Floo home. 

“Andromeda, thank you so so much for taking us out today, and showing us Harrods and everything. Dad will hopefully love his present and that’s thanks to you.”  
“That’s quite alright Scorpius, though I think the reason he’ll love it is all you.”  
Scorpius nodded, and Andromeda smiled at him before moving away to talk to Hannah at the bar, giving the boys a little space. 

“I need to thank you too, Albie, for asking her to help. And for coming with me today, and dancing in the street even though I know you thought it was mad. And for my bauble, which I absolutely adore.”  
Albus couldn’t help but beam at the words. Scorpius returned the smile with only a touch of added seriousness.   
“I had the best day, Scor, no need to thank me! Dancing in the street was mad but turned out to be so much fun! It was the best day, and I’m glad you get a bit of colour added to your Christmas.”

Scorpius nodded, and glanced at the Floo then turned back to Albus.   
“I really should go... Dad will be waiting. I’ll see you on Christmas Day, yeah? It’s going to be so incredibly amazing, I’m looking forward to it so so much!”  
And then Scorpius leant forwards, planted a kiss on Albus’ cheek, and just as quickly threw down the Floo powder and disappeared, leaving Albus frozen on the spot, half of his brain still obsessing over the way Scorpius’ lips had felt against his skin, and the other half replaying Scorpius’ words with the dawning realisation that everything about this Christmas would have to be absolutely perfect... 

He needed to speak to Grandmolly, as commander in chief of the Weasley Christmas, she would know what to do. With a shout towards Andromeda, Albus grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, jumped into the flames and called out ‘The Burrow!’


End file.
